==AbCellera (ABCL) : Positive Hot-Flash Drug Trial Results

 

(Bloomberg) -- Biotech company AbCellera Biologics Inc. jumped as much as 41%, giving it a market value of almost $3 billion, after it said a potential remedy for hot flashes was effective in a mid-stage trial.

"We believe ABCL635 has potential to be a blockbuster product," Chief Executive Officer Carl Hansen told investors on a Monday conference call. "The efficacy data is beyond even the most aggressive upside scenario we had dared to consider."

The drug aims to block a biological signal associated with hot flashes, which can cause sudden feelings of uncomfortable heat and disruption to sleep. Hansen said it has significant market potential because it would be a non-hormonal treatment, and the hormone therapies currently available are unsuitable for 20% of women.

The company said its experimental shot reduced the frequency and severity of hot flashes over a four-week study period compared with a placebo, with no serious side effects. The most common side effects patients getting the drug experienced were headaches, fatigue and injection-site reactions.

AbCellera went public in December 2020 and played a role in the development of a Covid-19 therapy. The company was backed at an earlier stage by billionaire Palantir Technologies Inc. co-founder Peter Thiel, and he also sat on its board. Thiel stepped down from that role in 2024.